Monday, February 22, 2016

Qatar MOH Statement On 1st MERS Case Of 2016

# 11,043

Qatar ranks 4th among Middle Eastern nations in MERS cases (n=14 as of today), with their last case (and 4th for 2015) reported on May 22nd of last year. Of these 14, more than 1/3rd (n=5) reportedly fell ill after recent travel from Saudi Arabia.

Ministry of Public
Health (MOPH) has announced that a new Middle East Respiratory Syndrome
Corona Virus (MERS-CoV) case has been confirmed for a 66 year old Qatari
national, marking the 1st MERS-CoV case to be confirmed in Qatar in 2016 where the last confirmed case was reported on May 22nd 2015.

After his return from a trip to KSA where he owns a sheep and camel
barn, the patient developed acute symptoms of fever, cough, and diarrhea
associated with abdominal pain. He was taken by ambulance to Hamad
General Hospital (HGM) where laboratory tests detected MERS-CoV. The
patient is currently in critical condition and was admitted to the ICU
in restricted infection prevention and control measures at HGH.

Once the case has been confirmed, the rapid response team of the Health
Protection and Communicable disease Control department at the MOPH has
carried out extensive search to list all potential contacts with the
purpose to verify their consistence with the standard case definition of
the suspected cases based on the WHO guidelines. All traced contacts
will be monitored over a period of two weeks, while those who develop
suspected symptoms will then be subject to laboratory investigation.

While research efforts continue on a global and local level to determine
the modes of transmission of MERS-CoV infection, the Ministry of Public
Health advice citizens and residents who suffer from chronic diseases
to avoid direct contact with camels and washing hands with soap and
water thoroughly. Also recommends to implement respiratory hygiene and
cough etiquette in addition to boiling camel milk before consumption.